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With consumer interest and spending on virtual reality tech on the rise, the digital world is eagerly awaiting the findings of a new IDC report.

Consumer spending on digital devices, services, and content will reach $3.4 trillion worldwide in 2020, rising 4.7% annually from 2015, according to the latest forecast from International Data Corporation (IDC).

The forecast is from a newly launched research program, Consumer Spending Priorities: Tech and Services, which provides a holistic view of consumer spending across all goods and services.

The share of consumer digital spending on devices will fall from 28% in 2015 to only 22% by 2020, while consumer spending on digital content will rise at a 12.6% annual clip, according to the CSP, a twice-annual pivot table. Digital services, however, will maintain its 61% share of consumer digital spending by growing 4.9% annually.

“While total consumer digital spending is going up, the nature of the spend is changing,” IDC tells us. “For example, just as consumers shift spending towards digital content, consumers worldwide are moving digital spending towards online media and away from entertainment devices. Consumer spending on online media will grow 12.6% from 2015 to 2020. Spending on digital communications devices and services will grow at a mere 1.6% annual rate as consumer spending on voice services, both fixed and mobile, declines in absolute terms from 2015 to 2020.”

“Clearly the value of the devices is derived primarily as conduits for the content and services that they transport and the applications that they enable,” notes Jonathan Gaw, research manager for IDC’s Consumer Spending Priorities: Tech and Services program.

VRJournal is a leading technology media property dedicated to covering the emerging and rapidly evolving world of virtual reality, reviewing new solutions, giving reliable and actionable tips and breaking important technology news.